Mountbatten-Windsor wins permission to challenge police search warrants
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has secured permission from the High Court to challenge the search warrants used by police after his arrest in February.
The claim is a judicial review, a procedure in which a judge examines whether an official decision was made lawfully. He is asking the court to quash the warrants. Both Thames Valley Police and the Central Criminal Court, whose judge issued them, are opposing the challenge. Royal Central
The warrants were issued on 18 February by a judge at the Central Criminal Court, the London court commonly known as the Old Bailey. That was one day before Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested. They authorised searches of properties connected to him.
Those properties included Marsh Farm on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk and Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate in Berkshire. Police carried out searches at both addresses in the days after the arrest.
A hearing in the case is listed for Thursday and is initially expected to be held in private. Mr Justice Hilliard will first consider an application about whether certain documents connected to the challenge should be kept private. Thames Valley Police is seeking restrictions on the release of court papers. GB News
Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles, was arrested on 19 February, his 66th birthday. He was taken to Aylsham police station in Norfolk, interviewed under caution and then released under investigation.
The police investigation concerns suspected misconduct in public office. That offence deals with serious abuse of a public role. The inquiry followed publication in the United States of material from the Epstein files.
Among that material were emails appearing to show Mountbatten-Windsor sharing official information with Jeffrey Epstein and others during his period as the United Kingdom's trade envoy. Police have previously said allegations of sexual misconduct could also be considered as part of the investigation. Mountbatten-Windsor, who was arrested on suspicion of leaking government documents to Epstein, has consistently denied wrongdoing connected to his association with Epstein. Reuters
News of the court challenge was reported on 5 October 2026. Reuters attributed its report to The Telegraph, while The New York Times separately reported that Mountbatten-Windsor had filed action challenging the legality of the warrants used to search two of his homes in February. The New York Times
Permission to bring a judicial review does not decide the outcome. It means a High Court judge has found the arguments sufficiently serious to be heard in full.
